One Last Chance
by purelily12
Summary: A year has passed since the attack on New York; Loki has been stripped of his powers and banished to Earth after causing the destruction. A woman finds him passed out under a tree during the beginning of December and takes him in. The two of them eventually become close, but what is Loki not telling her?
1. Chapter 1

"Five more minutes, just five more minutes" Layla Stone thought as she waited for the school bell to ring and she could finally go home and enjoy the rest of her Friday after working at the High school library all day. Drumming one of her hands on her desk lightly and her other hand pulling on her very curly neck length brunette hair.

Don't get her wrong she loved her job as one of the librarians at the school, but sometimes it could be very stressful when a student constantly forget a book, or couldn't put a book back on the right shelf. I mean come on. How hard is it to do that?

The school bell let off a ding and the students in the library rushed out so they can leave for the day. Layla picked up her puffy winter coat, zipped it up and grabbed her purse, then proceeded to wave a goodbye at the two remaining librarians.

Stepping out into the chilly December fifth's air was like a slap to the face, snow was lightly sprinkled on the ground giving it a soft look. Hurrying to her silver 2009 Hyundai Accent she quickly got in the car, turned on the ignition, and cranked up the heat.

She pulled down the little sun visor mirror and stared at her reflection. Lightly pushing back the long curls as she inspected her face. Her oval shaped face that matched well with her light Caramel colored skin. She had a wide forehead, round chin and high cheekbones with hazel almond shaped eyes and dark yet slightly bushy eyebrows, and an up-turned nose. She opened her full light pink colored lips and then smiled to reveal a smile that was fairly white but had slightly crooked bottom teeth.

"Guess it's time to get these things threaded again." She said softly with a sigh as she tried to smooth out the eyebrows in an attempt to possibly make them look smaller.

Feeling a little too warm for her liking she unzipped the puffy black winter coat with long fingers and pushed the garment a little past her shoulders while sliding her arms out of its sleeves. Running both hands down her reasonably tall body that stood to about 5'7 she tried to smooth out her long sleeved cotton white shirt that clung a little too much around the slight chubbiness of her stomach and ran her hands over her thick thighs with dark colored jeans.

Making a quick grab to her phone she checked the time which read 2:31 PM then dialed a number that belonged to one of her close friends. All she got was the woman's answering machine.

"Hi, this is Jane Foster. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now, please leave me a message" A beep followed quickly after.

"Hey Jane, I just wanted to thank you for watching my daughter for me while I was at work today... and all the many times before that." She said laughing lightly into her cell phone.

"Anyway, I'll probably be home around 3:00 so I would greatly appreciate it if you could please bring Kya back to my apartment around 3:30. You're the best, bye. "She said and then hit the end button on the phone.

Immediately Layla's background screen popped up to reveal her adorable four year old daughter. The picture was of her standing next to a tree on a bright sunny day, one of her tiny hands pressed against the tall tree making her seem smaller then she really was. The wind was obviously blowing because her chest length blond wavy hair was sticking out in all different directions and her blues eyes were sparkling in pure joy which made her look so cute in her yellow sun dress.

Smiling gently at the picture she hit the lock button on the phone and slid it into her small purse. She carefully pulled out of the school's parking lot and proceeded to make her way back home.

A little bit of time has passed before ended up stuck on one road where she was barely moving down. Groaning loudly she slouched forward in her seat and looked out the slightly fogging passenger window. She was slowly driving next to what was the entrance of a park. She squinted her eyes a little as she could see a figure that was huddled under a tree that was in the middle of the park. Frowning she looked back at the car behind her and then looked at the close entrance of the park. Turning on the right blinker to signal the car behind her that she wanted to turn, and then putting a hand up as a thank you to the person who let her turn she parked into a spot that was somewhat close to the person huddled under a tree.

She turned off her car and picked up her phone to check the time, 2:45, it read.

"I'll just walk over there and see if the person is ok." She thought to herself as she slid her coat back on and put her cell phone and keys into her coat pocket.

Stepping over the curb and onto the snow covered grass she walked cautiously and looked around. Great, no witnesses while thinking "Please don't be some kind of creep." As she stood within a foot of the person that was clearly a man by the shape of the thin body that had on a terrible excuse for winter clothes.

"Um, excuse me sir. Are you ok? Is there someone I can call for you?" She said softly as she poked his shoulder a couple times. No response from the man that was sleeping. Suddenly a chilly gust of wind blew the man's long jet black hair and she got a good look of his face and let out a gasp and took about ten steps back. It was Loki, the same man, she recognized, that tried to destroy New York a year ago.

Oh my gosh, what do I do!" She said quietly as she stared at the unmoving figure.

She thought quickly, wasn't Loki the brother of Thor? And Thor and Jane were obviously very close as Jane described to her all that happened after his trip to Earth, but Thor hadn't returned to Jane yet as she described to her and he probably would come back shortly since Loki appeared to be on earth.

"Ok, maybe I should just take him back to my place and call Jane." She thought as she fidgeted side to side in nervousness, still not quite believing that it was Loki who was actually in front of her. She couldn't just leave him there, could she? No, she had a feeling that wouldn't turn our well considering that the temperature was at around 30 degrees today.

Taking a few slow steps forward she put her arm under his armpit and dragged him a little bit.

"Wow this guy sleeps like the dead." She groaned as the man still hadn't moved. Her mouth dropped open slightly as she thought that he actually might be dead.

Quickly placing two fingers at the man's pulse point on his neck and waiting, she let out a relieved sigh as she felt the strong pulse. The moved her hand to rest on his forehead, then frowning as she could feel that it was very hot. She continued to move the body until it was sitting in her passenger spot in the car. Buckling his seatbelt and closing the door as she moved around the car to her side and took her sear as well.

"I am the biggest idiot in the world." She thought as she grabbed the phone from her pocket and checked the time, which read 2:40.

"Better start driving" she thought as she started the engine and pulled out of the park heading for her apartment. Of course, being extremely tense as she was, Layla kept constantly looking at the body hoping he wouldn't wake up and attack her.


	2. Chapter 2

After struggling to get the man up the couple main steps and dragging him into the apartment, Layla finally managed to lay Loki on the long leather coach and wrap him in a fluffy white blanket. Sighing she stood and looked around her apartment.

It was a pretty good apartment to her, since it was just her and Kya living there. Right when you walked through the door you were immediately staring at a set of about fifteen carpeted stairs which led to two bedrooms and a bathroom up there, and if you were to turn left from when you walked in you would be standing in the living room, which had the couch Loki was currently passed out on, and in front of that was a glass table and a flat screen TV. There was a random white wall behind the couch which separated the kitchen from the living room and if you were to walk a couple steps to the right there would be a small bathroom, and if you were to walk to the left of the kitchen you would be where the black kitchen table and four chairs were, if you walked a little to the left there were blinds covering a glass door that led to a small balcony that had a mini table and two skinny chairs outside.

Upstairs was a small hallway, the first door on the right was the bathroom, and the door to the left of that was Kya's bedroom, which had a small pink bed that was in the middle of the room. To the left was her closet, and to the right was her huge toy box with all the things she enjoyed to play with, and a tiny table with chairs behind it. Layla's room was at the very end of the hall and had a huge queen size bed that had fluffy white sheets and two big golden colored pillows on it. To the right was her medium sized vanity that had her makeup kit on it which she rarely ever used, and to the left was her closet.

Anyways, back to the so called "god of mischief" that was laying on her couch. Still hadn't moved yet, backing up towards the bathroom where she could call Jane and still keep an eye on the raven haired man she dialed Jane's number and waited for her to answer.

"Hello" Jane said softly into the phone.

Layla's heart started thumping the second she heard Jane's voice. Nervously, she started to pick at her fingernails.

"Hey, Jane are you almost on your way here with Kya?" She said quietly.

"Yes I'll be leaving in a minute."

"Good, uh cause I need to warn you about something but please don't freak out." She said nervously to Jane.

"Layla, what did you do?" Jane said starting to sound accusing.

"Well um, you know Thors brother Loki that you had mentioned to me after the attack on New York? Well he is kind of passed out on my couch." She said swaying back and forth.

It was quiet on the other line, before she heard a little laughter.

"Very funny Layla." Jane says laughing.

"Um yeah I'm not joking."

It was silent for a few seconds then the sound of yelling came.

"Are you nuts? Why is the jerk who terrorized New York last year laying on your couch! You need to contact the authorities!" Jane said, nearly bursting out Layla's eardrums.

"Look, I'll explain everything when you get her with Kya I promise, but you need to be quiet because I don't want him awake right now. Can I please talk to my daughter?" She said.

The phone was moved away and handed over the Kya. Should could hear the angry muttering in the backround.

"Hi, mommy! Why was Jane yelling at you?" She heard the small squeaky voice of her daughter.

"Oh, it's nothing sweetie. I need you to do something for mommy when you get in ok? I want you to be extra quiet when you walk in because there is a man who is sleeping on our couch. I want you to head up straight to your room when you walk in. Can you do that for me?"

"Ok! A man on the couch? Is he your new boyfriend?" The child said excitedly over the phone.

Kya asked that question every time she had mentioned a guy. She hasn't been with a man since her ex-husband had left when Layla was 25 years old, that was two years ago. Kya was two at the time, so she doesn't remember much of her father.

"No honey, I'll explain to you about him later. Please give the phone to Jane."

"I'm leaving right now. If he wakes up and lays one finger on you I want you to call the police understand?"

"Alright, but something tells me even if he does wake up, he won't have the energy to move." Layla said as she eyed the man on the couch.

"Bye"

Layla placed the phone back in her pocket. Sure will be an interesting conversation with Jane when she arrives. Layla walked back over to the area where Loki was and sat on the stairs that led to the upstairs. Staring back at Loki and then turning her glance to the door she started to recall the day he had led the attack on New York.

-Flash back-

It happened when she was on her way home from work. Kya had been at a friend's house that was about five minutes from where the attack was starting. So of course Layla was extremely worried.

She was stuck in traffic when she looked up at the sky and saw what appeared to be a portal and there were alien like things coming through and firing.

"Holy shit!" She yelled alarmed as they started attacking people on the street. Glancing around rapidly she wanted to see if she could find a building to hide. Some of the closest buildings around her were just around the corner, but there were aliens all down the block. She had to run if she wanted to get inside a building.

Grabbing her purse and taking out a small pocket knife that was at the bottom of her purse she ran fast, but there were two of those creepy looking aliens coming her way.

"Crap!" She said as she was struck with some kind of energy blast from their staff. One the ground in pain she grabbed a brick that had been on the ground from threw it at one of them…. And badly missing. One came toward her and grabbed her by the waist.

"Let me go you bastard!" She said as she kicked it in the stomach and tumbled away, another one charged at her and this time she managed to stab it in the arm and ran around the corner to the inside of a café.

"Ew that is so gross!" She said as she saw the black alien blood on the knife. She grabbed napkins and got rid of the mess on it.

Inside the café there were about two dozens of people inside panicking and making phone calls. Layla put the knife back in her purse and grabbed her phone to call one of her friends that was watching Kya.

After a few painful seconds of ringing the woman picked up the phone.

"Oh my gosh, please tell me your aware what's happening and that my baby girl is safe!" Layla shrieked over the phone.

"Don't worry she's safe, but what about you?" The women's worried voice came over the phone.

"I'm... I am fine." Layla replied shakily as she placed a hand over the bleeding wound on the stomach.

"I can barely believe what I'm seeing." Layla muttered

"I, have to go. Please keep my baby safe." Layla said as she hung up the phone and went to grab napkins for the wound.

This didn't make any sense. One minute everything is calm, and the next alien creatures just come out of the sky. Why? That's what she didn't understand. Walking past the crowd of chattering people she stared out the window. The creatures seemed to be trying to destroy everything on sight, but what struck her the most was that she saw a man with some kind of weird looking antlers on his head that was riding on one of the strange vehicles. Could he behind this?

Outside of the café there was a small little boy with blond hair that was running to try and get in the café away from the creatures. Poor kid tripped over the curb and the ended up falling to the ground.

"My baby!" a woman had screamed.

Turning her head to woman, and then the boy she ran past the people and shouted "move!"

Running out the door quickly she pulled the crying child up and pushed him into the direction of the café door.

"Go!" she yelled as she watched the child run to his mother.

Hearing the loud shrieks of the creatures she turned around fast and would have been hit with their staff if the same man with the strange antlers hadn't of slammed his vehicle into the three monsters.

He saved me?

The man hopped off the vehicle and stepped toward her. Layla opened her mouth to say thank you until he stopped her.

"Oh, I wouldn't bother to thank me human." He said in a silky yet dangerous tone.

She jumped as a fog of green smoke seemed to consumed her, and then vanished almost as quickly as it came. huh...What was the point of that? It hadn't harmed her.

"Consider it a little present." He said with a laugh as he hopped back onto the machine and flew behind more of the odd creatures.

Weird.

She glanced back at the man in the air one last time, and then ran inside where the woman gave her a huge hug for helping her son.

-End of flashback-

After the threat had been cleared, she immediately called her friend that had Kya and told her everything was fine and she was on her way to get her. Not long after that her parents that were currently living the Florida called to make sure she was safe. Then had to send a message to Jane because she saw all the "avengers" and noticed Thor helping during the attack. She remembered how Jane had described Thor and how she told her that he had a brother named Loki, but that was all she had said on the subject of the brother. Of course, after the attack the news cast came. And they showed footage from the battle and explained that the cause of the attack was brought by someone from Asgard and that the person who brought those monsters called the Chitauri, were from Loki, and now that same person was currently in her living room.

She had to find out why he did it, why anybody would try to conquer the world that she lived in. She knew she wasn't going to get answers for a while, but that was ok as long as she found out one day.

What was with that so called "present" he had given her? it must have been nothing. She felt completely fine, but she was still curious as to what it was exactly.

Taking one last glance at Loki, she let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes as she waited for Jane to arrive with her daughter.


	3. Chapter 3

It has been a year since either Thor or Frigga had seen Loki. After the attack on New York Thor had used the tesserect to bring Loki back to Asgard, after the bifrost was destroyed Loki had been sent to the All-father where he was to be sentenced immediately, his sentence was that his powers were to be bound and he would be sent to live life on Earth as a mortal, like Thor had. Neither Thor or Frigga had known the fate of Loki until the deed had already been done. Since the bifrost was broken Odin could only conjure up some dark magic to send Loki to Earth. It had been one year since Loki was cast out, but now the bifrost has finally been repaired, and Thor would very much like to see Jane again, and then have a word with the avengers about Loki being back on Earth.

"How does my brother fair Heimdall?" Thor said standing next to the all-seeing man.

"Yes, how is my son" Queen Frigga said as she stood next to her eldest son

The Gatekeeper stood looking over the horizon, eyes seeming golder than ever.

"It would seem that a mortal woman in New York has taken him in" Heimdall said softly taking a glance at them.

Heimdall knew, he knew that after Loki had been sent to Earth by Odin that Loki had it rough, very rough actually, considering that Loki had no real place to stay, he would always try and seek out warmer clothing to wear, and would try to charm his way into getting food from people so that he would not starve to death. When Frigga and Thor would ask Heimdall about the condition of Loki, which was quite often, Heimdall would say that Loki was doing just fine, he did not want the two of them to worry more, he knew that they were constantly worried for Loki ,so if he were to say about the poor condition Loki was in, that would not have helped the situation any more, espically since there was nothing that anyone could do from Asgard while the bifrost was down, but now it was repaired and since the mortal woman had decided to take Loki in, Heimdall could finally release alot of the tension he had built up for lying to Frigga and Thor.

Frigga and Thor both appeared shocked by this surprising news, but they were both indeed very grateful for what was happening.

"That is joyous news!" Thor said with a bright smile.

"Yes, that is fantastic news." Frigga agreed with an even larger smile.

"You may also be pleased to know my prince, that the woman that has taken him in seems to be close to your mortal woman." Heimdall said with a small smile.

"Even better! I must go see Jane, and then meet this wonderful woman that has been kind enough to take my brother in. What is the woman's name?" Thor asked curiously as he headed toward the spot where Heimdall would transport him to Earth.

"Layla Stone, my prince" Heimdall said politly as he grabbed his sword.

"I must go right now to speak with Jane and my Midguardian friends." He said readying himself for the trip.

Heimdall placed his sword in the device and sent Thor to Earth in a blast of rainbow colors.

Thor quickly arrived outside of Starks tower as he left a boom of thunder overhead.

Stark had given Jarvis the ok to let him in, and he stepped inside.

"Hey, point break. What brings you by?" Tony said walking away for his previous discussion with Steve.

"Good to see you Thor." Steve greeted.

"Hello, my friends. Where is Barton, the lady widow, and Banner?" Thor said setting his hammer down to the ground lightly.

"There around here somewhere." Tony said gesturing around the area. "Should I have Jarvis call them in here?"

"Yes, I think that would be best." Thor said with a nod.

After the team had stopped Loki, the avengers each had a little place of their own at Stark tower since Tony had more then enough space. Thor had returned back to Asgard to deliver Loki, but before he left Tony had told him that there will always be a place for him a Stark tower, that truly made Thor feel very welcomed and accepted. The rest of the team had to deal living with each other. Of course it was hard considering they all had pretty different personalities, but it has been a fairly smooth ride so far.

"Where's the fire?" Barton said as he exited from the elevator with Bruce and Natasha by his side.

"Thor ,what brings you here?" Natasha said taking a seat at Tony's bar area.

"After my brother had attacked your realm, father had sentenced him to live as a mortal. Loki has been here for about a year now, I could not travel here to tell you all because the bifrost was still destroyed at the time." Thor announced loudly staring at his teams faces.

Everyone was silent for a moment as they let that surprising information sink in.

"We have to tell Fury." Steve said with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Agreed" The rest of the avengers except Thor said quickly at the same time.

"Wait my friends; please let us not tell Director Fury about my brother being here. I know he has done a great wrong to your world, but father has made him mortal now, and he is not a threat to you anymore I promise." Thor said as he tried to stick up for his brother once again.

The team was silent for a while, thinking about what Thor had said. They figured he had a good point. Loki had been back on Earth for a year, and they haven't heard any report on him that he was causing damage, so that had to be a good sign.

"As long as he is not a threat I guess we don't have to alert Fury, but someone has to keep an eye on him. I hate to say it, but maybe we should keep him here at Stark tower under servalience, since we don't trust him for obvious reasons." Captain said very seriously.

"I'd still like to shoot an arrow in his eye for what he did to me." Clint mumbled quietly so Thor would not be able to pick up what he was saying.

"Maybe we need not do that. While I was on Asgard, the gatekeeper Heimdall told me that a mortal woman has taken him in." Thor said with a small smile.

"Let me get this straight." Tony jumped in.

"Some woman just took the man who threw me out of a window into their home, and is currently taking care of him?" He said making wild gestures to said window he had been thrown from.

"She's obviously not very bright." Natasha commented with a shrug.

"How do we know we can trust her to watch him?" Bruce asked Thor.

"She is a close friend of Jane's, so she must be a good woman." Thor replied to the team.

"What makes you think that?" Clint asked Thor.

"Anyone who is a friend to my Jane has to be a kind person." Thor said with a smile as he was thinking of Jane.

"I don't know … we would still like it for you to go see him. Make sure he truly won't be a problem." Bruce said and the rest of the team quickly nodded in agreement.

"You have my word, I will go see Jane right now. She must know where this woman lives." Thor said as he went to grab his hammer and fly away.

After he had left, the rest of the team just stared at each other. Wondering how this whole thing with Loki was going to turn out.

They all had a nagging feeling that there was going to be some major consequences.


	4. Chapter 4

Layla's phone vibrated in her pocket, opening the phone she had received a text message from Jane saying that she was outside.

Standing up and frowning she opened the door and saw Jane with Kya.

"Remember what I said on the phone Kya." Layla whispered quietly to Kya.

She nodded her head quickly in understandment and went up the stairs quietly to her room.

Jane closed the door and stepped inside; she made a face of disgust at the man on the couch and turned back to Layla.

"Explain" She said firmly, hands on her hips.

"Come over here." Layla said as she dragged Jane by her arm into the kitchen.

"I was on my way home, and I was stuck in traffic so I looked over at the park and I saw him laying under a tree. He just… looked so cold and sick so I brought him here." Layla said quickly before Jane could get a word in.

"Why don't you just put in a call to S.H.I.E.L.D and they'll take care of it? You do realize this is the insane man who tried to rule over us humans right?" Jane said trying to talk some sense into her curly haired friend.

"I know… I just… look... I know it probably wasn't the best idea, but I had no idea what else to do. Remember when you told me about how S.H.I.E.L.D took your equipment? I just have a funny feeling about those people. I know you told me there good, but they are most likely hiding secrets, I can feel it. How do I know that if I call them they won't torture him or something?" She said twisting her hands in nervousness for Jane's response.

"That should not be a concern to you." Jane had said making a hand gesture toward Layla.

"Well it does, and it should concern you too. You're pretty much in a relationship with Thor right?" She said

Truly, Jane was not too sure, after Thor went back to Asgard to deal with Loki he had said he was coming back, she had waited but he had never returned. That had been a year ago. Still, it would make her very happy to see him again.

"He… hasn't returned to me yet." She finally answered quietly with a sad sigh.

"Well, I know he will soon. Especially since Loki is here. You know that Thor wouldn't want any harm to come to his brother." Layla said placing a hand on her shoulder and giving a small smile.

"I… I guess you're right." Jane admitted softly.

Layla smiled as she was suddenly feeling victorious.

"When he returns to you. Just tell him I've got this under control." Layla said gesturing to the couch.

"Alright fine, you win." Jane sighed defeated.

"But.." Jane started, and Layla began to frown.

"He does one thing, just one little thing to hurt you or Kya, you are going to alert S.H.I.E.L.D immediately and you keep me updated daily on what he does. Got it?" Jane said feeling protectiveness flood out of her toward her friend.

"Got it." Layla confirmed.

"You know I wont be afraid to alert them." Jane warned.

"Ugh, yeah I know." Layla said with an eye roll.

"Here, take these." Jane said as she reached into her bag and pulled out three small objects, then placed them into Layla's hand.

"What are these things?" She said as she flipped the devices around.

"It's a tracking device that you can place around his wrist and a small locator for you to carry. I made those things about a year ago; never needed to use them but clearly you need to. Just put the bracelet on him and hit the small button on the remote to see where he is. It wont come off unless you use the key" She explained as she pointed to the tiny silver key in Layla's hand.

"Plus its water proof." She added.

"Uh... ok thanks Jane." She said still turning the objects in her palm.

"Keep me updated." She reminded as she started walking toward the door, then sending a sharp glare at Loki on her way out.

Layla followed silently behind her and then locked the front door.

"That went better than I thought it would." Layla thought relieved.

She pressed her back up against the door and looked at Loki. After the attack, Layla had made sure to keep as much graphic information about the monsters that destroyed New York from Kya. She didn't want the little four year old to be scared. Once she had been with her daughter again of course Kya had questions about the "scary monsters" but she tried to give her as little information as possible.

She took her time right now to really look at the man. He really appeared to be out of it, on top of the burning fever he had, he was wearing a pitiful excuse for an outfit considering that the jeans were ripped and the black shirt was terribly filthy. She wrinkled her nose up at that while complaining in her head how hard it would be to get the smell out of that outfit. His hair was very oily, oh yeah she was diffidently forcing the man to take a shower when he got up. No way was she going to resort to burning that couch. She also needed to give him a new change of clothes, hopefully her ex husbands clothes would fit him.

Tip toeing as quietly as she could, she quickly clicked the tracker over his thin wrist and turned away.

"Dang it" She thought as she went to retrive her purse.

She reached all the way down to the very bottom and pulled out an inhaler

Layla had been diagnosed with asthma when she went to the emergency room at about seven years old, she had been running the track at her school and started having an asthma attack during her second lap. Since then she had been given two different inhalers. One was her daily one that she needed to take four times a day, and the other was one that she used as a rescue inhaler if she started having an asthma flare up. despite having to take an inhaler four times a day, flare ups would occur often but usually only if she coughed a few times or was sick. She would always keep both inhalers in her purse just in case.

After Layla had taken her four puffs for the day, she placed the inhaler back into her purse and added the small remote and key inside it, She then quickly went up the stairs and knocked softly on Kya's door. She smiled when she noticed her playing with a Barbie doll.

"Is the man still sleeping?" Kya said with a whisper like she was sharing a big secret.

"Yes, so we need to stay quiet." Layla whispered back knelling by her daughter on the ground.

"Kya, I need you to listen to me ok?" Layla said seriously staring at the blond.

The child turned, and a lock of her blond hair got in her face.

"The person on the couch's name is Loki. He might be staying here for a while ok? I need you to try and give him some space alright? He seems sick; want to come in the kitchen with me to help make him some soup?" Layla said smiling gently.

"Yes, I can be your special helper!" Kya said happily then slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized that what she said was loud.

"You will always be my special helper." Layla laughed.

"Let's go." Layla said as she grabbed the child's hand and proceeded to walk to the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave me reviews :) It makes me very happy, and it inspires me to get the next chapter written quicker ;)**

After the soup was made Layla had told Kya to go upstairs and stay in her room while she tried to wake Loki up.

Walking out of the kitchen, she placed a glass of water and the soup with a spoon in it on the coffee table in front of the raven haired man. Taking cautious steps forward she shook his shoulder gently, when she received no response she shook harder. Finally the man shifted but did not fully awaken.

Loki felt warm instead of freezing cold, that was odd to him. Wasn't he last huddled under a tree in the snow? He finally shifted and opened his eyes, and was now staring at a woman with extremely curly hair.

"Hi" Layla said awkwardly as she raised a hand in the air slowly.

Loki glared at her and tried to sit up and groaned at the splitting headache he now had.

"Don't move." she said to him as she placed a hand back on his shoulder to push him down.

He jerked to get away from her touch. "Get away from me, you filthy mortal." He spat weakly at her.

"Excuse me, but I happened to pull you out of the cold, and you are sitting on my couch so don't "filthy mortal" me." She said sharply as she handed him a glass of water. Which he downed quickly and then threw the cup in the direction of Laylas face, which she barely caught in time.

"I'm Layla, Layla Stone" She introduced as she stuck out her hand.

Her hand stood out in front of him for what felt like an eternity, she finally gave up with a sigh when he looked at it like it was some kind of vermin, and placed her hand back quickly on her lap.

Loki started to examine her very closely, looking at her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. This action had made her suddenly feel self conscious and she suddenly found her feet to be very interesting.

"Ah, yes I remember you mortal. You're the one who helped that child." He gritted out roughly.

"Yes I did" She said softly looking at green eyes.

"I made you some soup" she blurted out and pointed at the bowl.

He looked at it and scowled like he should get better then what was being offered, Layla frowned at that.

"Why have you brought me here human?" He said rudely to the woman.

What is his problem? She went out of her way to bring him to her home and help him, and she doesn't get one simple thank you.

"First off, I have a name and it's Layla. Let's just skip the introductions then since you seem to think you're too good properly tell me yours, but then again why bother, most of New York seems to know who you are. Secondly, you are here because I found you under a tree at the park in the freezing snow, which you should thank me for since I haven't contacted S.H.I.E.L.D yet, plus your burning up so I'm not letting you leave right now." She said staring at the irritated man.

Green eyes narrowed as they stared into bright hazel ones.

"What makes you think I won't just kill you and then leave?" He replied in a dark tone.

Ok, so maybe that wasn't the smartest thing for her to say.

"It would not be a smart thing to do for a few reasons. One, you need some place to stay. Which I am allowing you to do here. Two, you seem to be sick, so killing me when I am trying to help you would be pretty idiotic. Three, I am friends with Jane Foster, im sure you heard of her, the woman that your brother Thor seems to care deeply for. She knows you are here, if she doesn't hear from me she will contact S.H.I.E.L.D and you will be having a nice little conversation with who ever is in charge there." She said smartly placing her hands on her hips.

Loki was silent for a while. The mortal did make a few goods points, of course he would never admit that out loud.

"What is this device on my wrist?" Loki said trying and failing to pull it off.

"Oh that?" Layla said innocently. "Nothing, just a little tracking device so I know where you are." she said as though they were discussing the weather.

Loki went from confused to furious quickly.

"Listen well woman-"Loki started before he was interrupted.

"No, you listen to me. I was kind enough to bring you here when I could have easily let you freeze in the snow, but I didn't. So since you're going to be here for a while till I figure out what to do with you I have some rules. Rule one, stay where I can see you. Rule two, don't damage anything. Rule three, I have a daughter do not say one rude thing to her or you will not like the results. Finally, rule four I would like your respect. I know, I know your probably thinking "I will never give respect to a mortal." But guess what? You don't have much of a choice and certainly aren't in any position to be giving out threats. I know you don't like me and frankly I don't give a damn, I'm not feeling so hot about you right now, but you respect me and ill respect you, its as simple as that." She said sharply with her arms tightly by her side.

Loki just stared at her for a while and then a grin appeared on his face.

"Well, I think you and I are going to have an interesting time together." Loki said with a chuckle.

"Eat the soup. When you're done call me and I'll show you the shower because you diffidently need one." Layla said wrinkling her nose and walking into the kitchen.

Loki stared at her on her way into the kitchen.

"Interesting mortal." Loki thought, slightly intrigued at the way she had spoken to him.

She'll regret that in the future.

-Line break-

After leaving Layla's apartment Jane headed inside her lab so she could grab one of her books. The long drive made her start thinking about what an idiot her friend could truely be.

Even though Jane didn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D herself, she still thought it would be a better decison for Loki to be kept under the watchful eye of them rather then be walking around free for what he did to Thor and New York, but she really had agreed to one thing Layla had said, she agreed that S.H.I.E.L.D defidently had secrets, for all she knew they could probably have some kind of torture machines in there organization. Torture honestly would not be the worst thing they could do to Loki, even though Jane thought that he might have deserved that a little bit.

It might sound like a awful thing to think, but the man had hurt Thor, destroyed some of New York, and mind controled her good friend Erik. So she obviously wasn't feeling great things toward Loki, but Layla had told her not to tell anyone but Thor, and she wouldn't unless Loki does something to hurt Layla or her daughter, If it really came down to the point where she needed to call S.H.I.E.L.D she would, even if it ment risking the trust she had built with Layla. She thought Layla and Kya's saftey ment so much more.

Jane grabbed her book that she needed then she started walking outside. There was a loud boom of thunder overhead suddenly. She dropped her book in shock when she saw the thunder god standing before her.

Walking over in shock and not quite believing what she was seeing, she sent a sharp slap to Thors face, and Thor's eyes widened at this unexpected greeting.

"Where were you!" Jane demanded staring at the Demi God.

Thor saw the anger that burned in her brown eyes, but dispite this all he could think about was how glad he was to see her after spending such a long time apart.

"Jane, I had to stop my brother from making a deadly decision. The bifrost had been destroyed, that is why I was not able to return to you." Thor tried to explain as he grabbing her hand.

"I saw you on TV with the avengers." She said jerking away from his touch.

"Jane, I fought to protect you and the Earth. I wanted to see you. very much so, but I could not risk your saftey during the attacks" Thor said pressing a kiss to her hand.

"Oh, well that... is actually a very good explanation." She said blushing slightly.

Jane had suddenly remembered about what Layla had told her, how when she saw Thor again she should tell him about Loki.

"Thor, my friend Layla has Loki. I know it sounds strange, but she took him into her home." Jane said, watching Thor's expression carefully.

"I am aware Jane; Asgard's Gatekeeper told me the news. Will you take me to this daughter of Stone?" He asked politely.

"Yes I will, let's go." Jane said heading for her vehicle.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki had headed upstairs to what the midgardians called a "shower" only because the mortal was right, he did truly need one. As expected she had to show him how to work the odd device and she handed him what appeared to be some mortal men's clothing.

Loki sighed as he felt the dirt and grime wash away, and he enjoyed the heat that the water was giving off. He hadn't been warm in a long time. It was comforting to be able to experience it once again.

After he dressed himself and exited the mortal's washroom, he nearly ran into a small child with blond hair.

"Ah, must be the human's daughter she had spoken about." Loki thought as the child stared at him with big eyes.

"What are you staring at child?" Loki asked attempting to be polite as he gritted his teeth to the small girl.

She just seemed to stare at him for a moment before she spoke in an excited voice.

"Hi, my names Kya what's yours?" the girl asked excitedly.

He just ignored her and headed back down the stairs so he could rest on the woman's couch, as much as he hated to admit it. He was feeling pretty weak, and his body was so very hot. He was hoping the child would take the hint and leave him alone. He had no such luck.

"How old are you?" She asked.

When he gave no response she spoke again.

"I am this many!" She yelled holding up four tiny fingers and wiggling them near his face.

Loki grimaced, where was that woman at? Surely she must be in her sleeping quarters doing who knows what. Had it really been necessary to leave her obnoxious child around him?

"I do not like children." Loki said simply to the child looking her square in the eyes.

Just like that, Kya's smile dropped instantly and her eyes became watery. She then proceeded to run up the stairs with tears in her eyes.

"Finally, some peace." He thought as he quickly fell asleep on the couch.

-Line-

Layla had been upstairs putting away Kya's clothes, when suddenly the child busted in the room with tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong honey?" Layla asked wrapping her arm around Kya, but what she thought in her head was "what did Loki do?"

"Loki doesn't like me." She managed to get out through her sniffles.

Layla frowned at this. Hadn't she told him not to say anything rude to Kya?

"Now, what would make you think that?" She said with a small smile.

"H-he said he doesn't like children." She said through the tears.

Ok, now Layla was officially pissed off.

"I'll be right back honey. I'm sure he didn't mean it." She said reassuringly, trying not to sound angry through her words.

She walked down the stairs and was now staring at the sleeping face of Loki. She walked into the kitchen with a smirk on her face.

She grabbed a bowl and then filled it with cold water, then placed a rag in the bowl. She walked back to where Loki was resting and stood over him.

"Bastard" She thought as she picked up the dripping rag and squeezed it out over Loki's face.

The reaction had been hilarious and left Layla smiling. Loki had shot up with a startled look on his face and began feeling around his it because he wasn't sure what had just happened, and then he opened his green eyes to glare at the smiling woman above him.

"What in Hel's name was that for?" Loki yelled at her.

"I very clearly remember saying to you not so long ago, to be nice to my daughter. Did I not?" She said hands on her hips.

Water was now dripping off of Loki's chin and his mouth was open like he wanted to say something, but then he shut his mouth. smart choice.

"Now, my daughter is going to come back here and you are going to apologize to her, got it?" She said, but she was already on the top of the stairs before Loki could argue with her.

"Oh, and by the way." Layla said from the top of the stairs. "Jane texted me that she is on her way with Thor, so you better be ready to give some answers." She said as she turned back to go to Kya.

"What!" He yelled from where he was sitting, but he received no response.

"Damn, that woman." He thought while wiping the water drops off of his chin. If he ever got his magic back… who was he kidding his fath- Odin would never give him his magic back. Not after almost killing Thor, or for the invasion on New York, and certainly not after he brought those monsters to Asgard. He knew the almost death of Thor was unforgivable, he was Odin's son after all. But what was the big deal about leading the Jotuns to Asgard? He only did it so Odin would be proud of him after he destroyed that race of monsters, he knew he would be doing him a favor. And the attack on New York… what really was the problem with that? The humans were nothing but worthless fools that need to be controlled, and now he was being ordered around by one. That thought made him feel disgusted.

The mortal said her name was…Layla? If he had been listening correctly. She was interesting and had some nerve, especially since she didn't even know that he was currently without magic. He might be powerless, but she was still vermin in his eyes that would always be beneath him. The child… Kya? Very obnoxious girl she was, but that Layla truly had no idea what was coming to her. Loki smiled at the thought of it.

Soon, Loki began to hear the loud noise of little feet running down the stairs. The child seemed to be keeping her distance this time and was staring at her little pink shoes. Loki let out a small sigh.

"I apologize for my rude behavior." Loki said sounding sincere on the outside, but on the inside he was feeling furious for having to apoligize to this little mortal.

The Child's face quickly became a whole different mood now, a smile spread on her face so big that her blue eyes scrunched up.

"Can we be friends now?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes"

He didn't really mean it, he only said it because he didn't want his face to receive any more cold water poured on it.

Layla was currently laying on her stomach, above the last step on the stairs. It truly was the perfect spot to spy on Loki. She could peer her head down to see and also hear both of them. They wouldn't be able to spot her, not unless one of them moved toward the front door.

She watched as Loki agreed to be Kya's friend, but of course she knew he didn't mean it, still it was a joy for her to watch her daughters face light up with such joy.

Kya had suddenly ran off to somewhere downstairs and then returned shortly with a few things in her hands. They were family photos that Layla had been forgetting to hang up on the wall.

"This is my grandma and grandpa!" She announced placing the photo into Loki's hand.

The picture showed Layla's parents from their younger days, they weren't that old now, but the picture of them had been from their wedding day. Her father was an extremely dark gentleman that had a bald head and was smiling very happily in his tux, her mother had ivory colored pale skin and was wearing a beautiful long strapless white dress that stopped above her ankles. Her hair was a long chocolate brown color and her hazel eyes were shining just as happily back as she was next to her husband.

"Your grandmother looks just like your mother." Loki commented.

Layla smiled at that, it was true, everyone said that the two of them looked a lot alike. Same exact face shape, eye color, nose and smile. Only thing that seemed to come from her dad was the caramel colored skin tone, curly hair and the…bushy eyebrows.

Then another picture was put into Loki's hand, and Layla frowned when Kya started to explain. It had been her wedding picture.

"This is my mommy and daddy." She said pointing to the pair.

It had been one of the times that Layla had felt truly beautiful. She had her cury hair straightened in the picture, which reached down to her chest, her eyebrows had been threaded, and her makeup had been fully done, she was smiling brightly in the picture. The dress was white and had stopped above her ankles,it was lacy from the knee down and had a V shape around the chest area that stopped above her breasts. The man to the right of her was in a black tux. He had short blond hair and bright blue eyes, they seemed so gentle while he was hugging Layla in the picture.

The one thing that truly annoyed Layla was that after she had given birth to Kya and her husband had left, was when she would take Kya with her to meet some new friends of Layla's that she just made, the girls would always ask the same stupid question. "Is she yours?" is what they would ask, and when Layla would reply "yes" in an irritated tone they would then say "Oh, my mistake. She is so beautiful!" It was true that the two of them didn't look very much alike. Layla had the brown curly hair and Kya had the straight blond, Kya had the blue eyes and Layla got the hazel, Kya got the ivory skin tone and Layla got the caramel skin tone.

"Where is the father?" Loki asked for his own good. He really didn't feel like having to deal with yet another mortal in this small apartment. Two would be enough to put up with.

"Oh, they aren't together anymore." Kya said as she moved on and placed one final picture in his hand.

It was of Layla and Kya. Both were standing near a tree outside, sun shining brightly over them. Layla was behind her with long arms wrapped over the girl's small frame.

"So, that's my family." She said as she picked up the photos and placed them back where they once were, then plopped down close to Loki again.

"Who's all in your family?" Kya asked, curiosity showing in the blue eyes.

Loki seemed to kind of freeze, he didn't really have a family, did he? Only person who he could ever think of as family was Frigga, but she was worlds away and Loki was beginning to think he would not be seeing her again.

"I… I do not have a family." Loki said hesitantly looking at the child.

"Don't be silly! Everyone needs a family. You can be a part of ours!" Kya said throwing her little arms around Loki.

Loki had looked shocked that the girl was so welcoming, but he was definitely more disgusted at the thought.

"Living with two mortals forever, definitely not." Loki thought with a frown as he squirmed out of the little girls grasp.

Layla had chose to come out of her hiding spot at that, thinking it was time to try and get on the good side of Loki.

"Kya can you go back upstairs and clean your room? You left your toys all over the floor." Layla asked with a smile.

The girl released Loki and ran upstairs to take care of her mess.

Layla and Loki started to stare at one another before Layla had finally broken the tense moment.

"Look, I know we got off to a bad start, but I really don't want us to spend this whole time together arguing. So can we please start over? I am Layla." She said holding out her hand once again.

Loki stared at the hand offered to him for a few moments. Yes, this woman was just a human, but since they were going to be around each other for a while, he thought it would be best to at least try and be civil to her, that did not mean that he had to like her. Which he didn't.

"Loki" He said as he firmly gripped the hand in front of him.

This had been their first true act of physical contact. They took the time to really look at each other for the first time. Green eyes met hazel, and Layla seemed to freeze for a moment. "He has really nice eyes." She had thought to herself and then proceeded to yell at herself in her head as she thought about how the first thing he said to her when he woke up was that she was a "filthy mortal".

Loki was now staring into the mortal's bright hazel eyes; they seemed to be the most pleasing feature of her to him. He started to think if he should at least thank the woman for taking him in, but that thought disappeared as quickly as it had came. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Whatever connection they were having at the moment was now gone, and Loki frowned when he realized that their hands were still locked together longer than necessary.

Layla turned towards the door and opened it. It was Thor standing in the doorway, Layla glanced behind him and noticed that Jane decided remain in her car.

"Hello, daughter of Stone. May I enter?" Thor asked in a firm yet gentle tone.

Layla nodded and stood to the side as the god walked in.

Thor had began staring at Loki like there was so much he wanted to say, but all Loki's expression said was that he didn't want Thor to be anywhere near him.

"Brother-"Thor had started before he was cut off by Loki.

"You are not my brother!" Loki hissed back at Thor sharply.

Suddenly, Layla had wished she had chosen to go outside and talk with Jane.

"Loki" Thor said correcting his word choice with sadness in his big blue eyes.

"I have visited my friends on Earth, they have told me to make sure that you are not a threat to their world. They have asked me to come see for myself, If you should remain at Stark tower-" He spoke before Loki interrupted.

"No, I will not remain with a bunch of mortals that defeated me! Two is revolting as it is!" Loki spat glaring at Thor and Layla.

Layla opened her mouth to make a comment, but quickly closed it when she realized that what she was planning to say was probably going to get another death glare from Loki, not that she cared. She just didn't want Thor to hear the inappropriate words that were about to escape her mouth.

Loki absolutely hated to admit it, but he would rather stay with two female mortals than go back to a whole group of them that would surely mock him for his defeat in New York.

"Loki, I am sorry for all that has happened, but I wish to help you in any way I can. You are family and I lov-" Thor said in a pleading tone before being cut off once again.

"Stop! I do not wish to hear this nonsense anymore!" Loki screeched loudly.

Thor eyes widened at the sudden outburst.

"As you wish." The thunderer said softly. So soft you had to listen carefully to catch it.

Layla placed a hand gently on Thor's shoulder and directed them outside to speak to each other privately.

Once outside Layla gave a quick wave to Jane and then turned her attention back to Thor.

"I am so sorry." Layla said as compassion seeped into her voice.

He seemed like he wanted to change the topic quickly to avoid more hurt.

"Lady Layla, I can't thank you enough for helping out my brother since he is in need. I am very grateful. I trust that you will take care and look after him." Thor said gratefully.

She nodded slowly.

"I do have questions, and he definitely does not seem to be in the mood for answering them." she said.

Thor stood patiently waiting for the questions to be asked.

"Why is he here?" She questioned.

"My brother was placed here as punishment for the wrong he did to your realm, he is without magic and is now completely mortal, just as I once was when I arrived here. Please look after him." He said gently.

"I will look after him, I promise." She said softly.

"Is there… some things I should know about him? Maybe something personal?" she asked.

She asked this because she knew it was pretty obvious that Loki would not tell her.

Thor was quiet for a moment as he seemed to debate whether to tell her something or not.

"Loki, he is not of Asgard. He was born on a realm called Jotunheim, he is what people in my realm call a Jotun, their appearance is not the most… pleasing to the eye. They are blue skinned and have red eyes. Many people do not like them simply because of their appearance. I only tell you this because my brother is not very comfortable after learning this information. I just dont want you to be frightened by this." He spoke.

This was interesting information to Layla, but she was not disgusted or scared of Loki because she now knew it.

"Just because someone is blue or has red eyes. Does not mean you should not like them." She spoke.

"You are indeed correct. I admire that you feel this way for my brother and you hardly know him. May I ask why?" He questioned with a soft tilt to his head.

The wind was blowing softly now, and Laylas eyes seemed to glaze over as she became lost in thought.

"Its because I know what it is like to be judged just because you look different to other people." She spoke firmly.

It was true. Being a mixed race child could be hard at times, it was definitely harder when she was in elementary school. The other kids would call her names like "oreo", "white chocolate", and "mutt". Those weren't the most pleasant things for a child to hear while growing up.

"You don't seem any different from the other humans I have met." Thor said with a deep laugh.

"Thank you" Layla said as she let out a small smile.

"Farewell, Lady Layla" Thor said as he grabbed Layla's left hand and placed a kiss to it. Layla glanced back to the car to see if Jane had noticed this action, but she was too busy staring at a book that was in her hand to notice.

"Good" Layla thought with a relieved sigh.

Layla watched as Thor and Jane waved one final goodbye, and then the two drove off.

Layla went back inside to find Loki on the couch with his head resting on the arm of it. Layla sat on the side of the couch furthest from him.

"He loves you." You spoke softly as she glanced his way.

Loki said nothing to this, just continued to keep his head on the arm of the couch as he closed his eyes.

When the silence became too much for Layla to bear, she moved to retrieve her purse and then sat down near Loki again.

Layla pulled out her daily asthma inhaler quietly.

"What is that strange contraption?" Loki spoke as he heard the soft push of a button and a quick inhale of breath.

"Humans can be born with this thing called asthma, its when your lungs aren't getting enough oxygen, if that happens I will start wheezing and coughing, which is what we call an asthma attack. This helps me breathe normally again." She said as she held the inhaler up.

"Interesting" Loki said with a smirk.

It really was interesting to Loki how mortals could get so many illnesses. Of course he didn't care if the woman could not breathe and died from this. Why should he? Human lives were nothing, they are alive for one moment and then in a heartbeat they would be gone. This so called disease may bring a quick death to put her out of her misery that was soon to come, then she would not have to deal with the agonizing fate that was about to happen to her. Loki almost smiled at the very thought of this fate.

"No, not really." Layla said as she gave an eye roll and stood up from the sofa.

"I will be right back with your medicine." She said loudly as she headed for the medicine cabinet.

She let out a smirk as she pictured what Loki's reaction would be to the horrible tasting medicine.

-line break-

After receiving some of that horrible fluid. Loki was now laying down on the sofa in the living room alone.

He then looked down at the tracking device on his wrist, and tried his hardest to pull it off.

No such luck.

"Damn" He groaned as he eventually gave up in trying to pull the thing off.

He then closed his eyes as he began remembering the day that the Allfather sentenced him. He sat still as the memory played once again behind closed eyelids.

(flashback)

Guards were on both sides of Loki as they held the chains in place. He was standing in Heimdall's Observatory in front of Odin, who was looking at him with ashamed eyes.

"I really don't see what the problem is here." Loki said with a laugh.

"The problem is that you attempted to rule midgard. Do you not feel responsible for this crime?" Odin spoke loudly.

"Mortals are nothing but scum, every last one of them." Loki spoke with a disgusted face.

Odin seemed to ignore what he had just said.

"Everywhere you go there is suffering and death." The Allfather spoke as he stared at his "Son".

"You-"

"Silence!" Odin yelled at Loki.

Loki shut his mouth quickly at the booming yell.

"No more, you will not continue to ruin any more lives." He spoke firmly as he narrowed his eyes at Loki.

"What are you-" Loki started to speak.

He was cut off as Odin began to yell.

"You are unworthy! you do not deserve the luxury of staying in Asgard when all you do is cause mischief and spread suffering to anyone who happens to cross your path!" Odin yelled as he took a few steps back.

"I now take away your power, and cast you out!" He yelled.

Loki tried to speak, but he could not. He was suddenly being sucked into the Bifrost in a flash of bright colors. The last thing he heard was a loud shriek of shock that could have only come from Frigga's mouth.

(end of flashback)

It had definitely been a shock to Loki that the Allfather placed him on Midgard with no powers. It had been very hard for him to find shelter. So he would just sleep where it seemed dry, he even somehow managed to charm the Earth women into giving him sustenance whenever he needed it. Of course he definitely did not like the idea of it, but he could put on a fake smile and keep all rude words from exiting his mouth in order to receive a meal.

Everything seemed to be easier now to Loki, since he now had a roof over his head that was protecting him from the harsh elements.

He then begins to think that the girl who took him in should feel honored to have a prince of Asgard in her home.

After all, he would always be above her.


End file.
